Non-ambipolar plasma ehncanced dc/vhf phasor

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to a plasma processing system for controlling plasma density across a substrate and maintaining a tight ion energy distribution within the plasma. In one embodiment, this may include using a dual plasma chamber system including a non-ambipolar plasma chamber and a DC plasma chamber adjacent to the non-ambipolar system. The DC plasma chamber provide power to generate the plasma by rotating the incoming power between four inputs from a VHF power source. In one instance, the power to each of the four inputs are at least 90 degrees out of phase from each other.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §1.78(a)(4), this application claims the benefitof and priority to prior filed co-pending Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/900,689 filed Nov. 6, 2013, which is expressly incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to semiconductor processing technology, and moreparticularly, to apparatus and methods for controlling plasma propertiesof a processing system for treating a substrate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Plasma uniformity control during plasma processing for treatingsemiconductor substrates is important to achieve patterning structureson a substrate or controlling the amount of material removed from ordeposited on or into the substrate. A plasma processing system mayinclude a large distance or gap between the plasma source and thesubstrate. A chamber wall of the plasma processing system may bedisposed between the plasma source and the substrate. As a result, ionsand electrons in the plasma may be influenced by the potentialdifference between the plasma and the chamber wall which may result inplasma density non-uniformity. This may have negative impact on theuniformity of structures within the semiconductor devices being built inor on the substrate. For example, a lower plasma density at the edge ofthe substrate may induce a lower etch or deposition rate at the edge ofthe substrate than at the center of the substrate. As a result, thesemiconductors may perform differently depending on whether they arenear the center or the edge of the substrate. Ideally, semiconductordevices should perform in a predictable manner or range regardless ofwhether they were at the center or the edge of the substrate. Hence,systems and methods that improve plasma density profile uniformity maybe desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates to a plasma processing system for controllingplasma density profile across a substrate from the center to near theedge or perimeter of a substrate. The plasma processing system mayinclude a plasma chamber that can receive and process the substrateusing plasma for etching the substrate, doping the substrate, and/ordepositing a film on the substrate.

The plasma chamber may include one or more plasma power sources that canemit electromagnetic energy to ionize gas that is delivered into theplasma chamber via a gas delivery system. The one or more plasma sourcesmay influence the plasma density within the plasma chamber. In oneembodiment, one of the plasma sources may induce a center high densityprofile, such that the plasma density near the center of the substratemay be higher than that an edge or perimeter of the substrate. Anotherplasma power source may be used to induce a center low plasma densityprofile within the plasma chamber. In this instance, the plasma densitymay be higher at the edge or perimeter of the substrate than at thecenter. In this way, the two or more plasma power sources may offseteach other and form a plasma density that has a higher degree ofuniformity across the substrate.

In one embodiment, one of the plasma power sources may includenon-ambipolar plasma chamber that may be used to generate a center-highplasma density profile in an adjacent chamber. This may be accomplishedby injecting electrons into the adjacent chamber from the non-ambipolarchamber using non-ambipolar diffusion of charged particles. Thenon-ambipolar diffusion may occur between regions of different localizedplasma potential. The diffusion may include the exchange of ions andelectrons between the regions or chambers, in that the first region(e.g., inside the non-ambipolar plasma chamber) may diffuse electronstowards a second plasma region and that the second region (e.g., secondplasma chamber) may diffuse ions towards the first plasma region (e.g.,non-ambipolar plasma chamber) in a systematic manner. The diffusion ofions and electrons in opposing directions may enable the generation ofplasma within the second plasma chamber. However, the plasma may have arelatively non-uniform plasma density profile across the substrate. Oneapproach to address the non-uniformity may be to apply a second powersource to the plasma that may improve the plasma density profilenon-uniformity. The may be accomplished by applying electromagneticenergy using a very high frequency (VHF) phasor electrode thatintroduces power near the edge of the substrate in a systematic way thatdecreases the center-to-edge non-uniformity of the plasma. The VHFsource may also tighten the ion energy distribution function (IEDf) ofthe plasma which may result in more uniform processing of the substrate.

In certain instances, the ion energy of the plasma may need to beshifted to accommodate certain processing conditions to treat thesubstrate. One approach to shift the ion energy may be to apply a directcurrent (DC) power source to the plasma that may shift ion energy higheror lower depending on the desired process conditions. In this way, therelatively tight IEDf may be maintained at different electron energyconditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and,together with a general description of the invention given above, andthe detailed description given below, serve to explain the invention.Additionally, the left most digit(s) of a reference number identifiesthe drawing in which the reference number first appears.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a representative embodiment of anon-ambipolar plasma system processing system that includes a schematicillustration of the system and illustrations of the performance of theplasma processing system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of one embodiment ofthe non-ambipolar plasma system processing system.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of the power splitter and impedancematcher and a top view illustration of a phasor electrode.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram for a method for generating plasma in thenon-ambipolar plasma system processing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following Detailed Description refers to accompanying drawings toillustrate exemplary embodiments consistent with the present disclosure.References in the Detailed Description to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “an exemplary embodiment,” etc., indicate that theexemplary embodiment described can include a particular feature,structure, or characteristic, but every exemplary embodiment does notnecessarily include the particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring tothe same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it iswithin the knowledge of those skilled in the relevant art(s) to affectsuch feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with otherexemplary embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

The exemplary embodiments described herein are provided for illustrativepurposes, and are not limiting. Other embodiments are possible, andmodifications can be made to exemplary embodiments within the scope ofthe present disclosure. Therefore, the Detailed Description is not meantto limit the present disclosure. Rather, the scope of the presentdisclosure is defined only in accordance with the following claims andtheir equivalents.

The following Detailed Description of the exemplary embodiments will sofully reveal the general nature of the present disclosure that otherscan, by applying knowledge of those skilled in the relevant art(s),readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such exemplaryembodiments, without undue experimentation, without departing from thescope of the present disclosure. Therefore, such adaptations andmodifications are intended to be within the meaning and plurality ofequivalents of the exemplary embodiments based upon the teaching andguidance presented herein. It is to be understood that the phraseologyor terminology herein is for the purpose of description and notlimitation, such that the terminology or phraseology of the presentspecification is to be interpreted by those skilled in relevant art(s)in light of the teachings herein.

FIG. 1 depicts a plasma processing system 100 for treating substratesusing plasma (not shown) that is generated in plasma chamber 102. Plasmamay be generated in the plasma chamber 102 by ionizing gas that isprovided by a gas delivery system 104 and exposing the gas toelectromagnetic energy provided by one or more power sources (e.g.,plasma power source 106, boundary power source 110, Very High Frequency(VHF) power source 112). A vacuum system 108 may also maintain asub-atmospheric pressure within the plasma chamber 102 during plasmageneration.

Plasma generation may be done by applying electromagnetic energy to anelectrically neutral gas to cause negatively charged electrons to bereleased from a gas molecule that is positively charged as result of thelost electron. In one embodiment, the electromagnetic energy may betransmitted to the gas via one or more electrodes (not shown) disposedwithin the plasma chamber 102. Over time, the electromagnetic energy andthe increasing electron collisions within the gas may increase thedensity of ionized molecules within the gas, such that the ionizedmolecules may be influenced by potential differences within the plasmachamber 102. For example, the potential differences within the plasmachamber 102 may direct the ionized molecules towards a substrate (notshown). The ionized molecules may interact with the substrate or treatthe substrate in a way that may remove a portion of the substrate or maybe deposited on the substrate. In this way, patterns may be etched intothe substrate or films may be deposited on the substrate.

Plasma density across the plasma chamber 102 may impact the uniformityof the plasma treatment of the substrate. The plasma density may be ionmolecule density within a volume within the plasma chamber 102. Plasmaprocessing uniformity may be impacted when the plasma density variesacross the substrate such that higher plasma density at the center ofthe substrate may cause a higher etch rate than the etch rate at theedge of the substrate.

Generally, this process non-uniformity may be the result of ion loss tothe chamber wall, specifically for a wide gap between the plasma sourceand the substrate holder. The non-uniformity may be illustrated by theplasma density graph 116 that shows the primary density profile 118 thatmay be generated by using the plasma power source 106 and the secondarydensity profile 120 that may be generated by the VHF source 112. Theinteraction between the primary density profile 116 and the secondarydensity profile 120 may result in an adjusted profile 122. Under theprinciple of superposition, the density distributions may offset eachother such that the center high distribution (e.g., primary densityprofile 118) may be offset by the center low distribution (e.g.,secondary density profile 120) to provide a more uniform density profile(e.g., adjusted density profile 120) across the substrate.

Another aspect of using the VHF source 112 may include generating arelatively narrow ion energy distribution within the plasma, as shown inthe IEDf plot 124. The ion energy (E_(k)) may be distributed overrelatively a narrow range of energy (eV) (e.g., <40 eV) and the peakIEDf may be less than 200 eV. One approach to get the energy above 200eV may be to apply use a relatively large power to the VHF electrode(not shown). However, the plasma may negatively impacted by harmonicsfrom the high power VHF signal to the VHF electrode. Hence, it may bedesirable to shift the distribution of the IEDf without introducing theharmonic effects. One approach to shifting the IEDf may be to adjust thesheath voltage (V_(s)) of the plasma by introducing additional electronsinto the plasma. Additional electrons may be introduced to the plasmausing a dual plasma chamber system that uses one chamber to generateelectrons and inject them into the second chamber where the substratemay be treated. The dual chamber system will be described in detail inthe description of FIG. 2. The process conditions to enable the plasmamay be controlled by a controller 114 that may control the pressure,temperature, time, power sources, and gas flow to implement the plasmaprocesses described above.

The controller 114 may comprise a microprocessor, memory, and a digitalI/O port capable of generating control signals sufficient to communicateand activate inputs to the system 100 as well as monitor outputs fromthe processing in the plasma chamber 102. Moreover, controller 114 canbe coupled to and can exchange information with plasma generation systemincluding gas system 104 and plasma power source 106, boundary powersource 110, and vacuum pumping system 108. For example, a program storedin the memory can be utilized to activate the inputs to theaforementioned components of the system 100 according to a processrecipe in order to perform methods for treating the substrate.

The interactions and functions of the components of the system 100 maybe managed or controlled by a controller 114. In one embodiment, thecontroller 114 may be implemented as a general purpose computer systemthat performs a portion or all of the microprocessor based processingsteps of the invention in response to a processor executing one or moresequences of one or more instructions contained in a memory. Suchinstructions may be read into the controller memory from anothercomputer readable medium, such as a hard disk or a removable mediadrive. One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangement may alsobe employed as the controller microprocessor to execute the sequences ofinstructions contained in main memory. In alternative embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions. Thus, embodiments are not limited to any specificcombination of hardware circuitry and software.

The controller 114 includes at least one computer readable tangiblestorage medium or memory, such as the controller memory, for holdinginstructions programmed according to the teachings of the invention andfor containing data structures, tables, records, or other data that maybe necessary to implement the present invention.

The term “computer readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing instructions to the processor of thecontroller 114 for execution. A computer readable medium may take manyforms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media,and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, for example,optical, magnetic disks, and magneto-optical disks, such as the harddisk or the removable media drive. Volatile media includes dynamicmemory, such as the main memory. Moreover, various forms of computerreadable media may be involved in carrying out one or more sequences ofone or more instructions to processor of controller for execution. Forexample, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk ofa remote computer. The remote computer can load the instructions forimplementing all or a portion of the present invention remotely into adynamic memory and send the instructions over a network to thecontroller 114.

Stored on any one or on a combination of computer readable media, theinvention includes software for controlling the controller 114, fordriving a device or devices for implementing the invention, and/or forenabling the controller to interact with a human user. Such software mayinclude, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems,development tools, and applications software. Such computer readablemedia further includes the computer program product of the invention forperforming all or a portion (if processing is distributed) of theprocessing performed in implementing the invention.

The computer code devices may be any interpretable or executable codemechanism, including but not limited to, scripts, interpretableprograms, dynamic link libraries (DLLs), Java classes, and completeexecutable programs. Moreover, parts of the processing may bedistributed for better performance, reliability, and/or cost.

Controller 114 may be locally located relative to the system 100, or itmay be remotely located relative to the system 100 via an internet orintranet. Thus, controller 114 can exchange data with the system 100using at least one of a direct connection, an intranet, or the internet.Controller 114 may be coupled to an intranet at a customer site (i.e., adevice maker, etc.), or coupled to an intranet at a vendor site (i.e.,an equipment manufacturer). Furthermore, another computer (i.e.,controller, server, etc.) can access controller 114 to exchange data viaat least one of a direct connection, an intranet, or the internet.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of one embodiment ofthe non-ambipolar plasma system processing system 200 comprising a firstplasma chamber 202 for forming a first plasma 204 at a first plasmapotential (V_(p,1)), and a second plasma chamber 206 for forming asecond plasma 208 at a second plasma potential (V_(p,2)) greater thanthe first plasma potential. The first plasma 204 may be formed bycoupling power, such as radio frequency (RF) power, to an ionizable gasin the first plasma chamber 202, while the second plasma 208 may beformed using electron flux 210 (e.g., energetic electron (ee) current,j_(ee)) from the first plasma 204. Further, the system 200 may alsoinclude a substrate holder configured to position a substrate 212 atdirect current (DC) ground or floating ground, in the second plasmachamber 206, and to expose the substrate 212 to the second plasma 208 atthe second plasma potential. The substrate holder may include a phasorelectrode (described in the description of FIG. 3) that may be coupledto the VHF source 112.

The first plasma chamber 202 may include a plasma generation systemconfigured to ignite and/or heat the first plasma 204 to the firstplasma potential (V_(p,1)). The plasma generation system may include,but may not require, the plasma power source 106 that may be coupled toa primary electrode 215 that may be electrically isolated from thechamber walls which may be coupled to electrical ground 220. The plasmapower source 106 may be any conventional plasma generation systemincluding, but not limited to, an inductively coupled plasma (ICP)source, a transformer coupled plasma (TCP) source, a capacitivelycoupled plasma (CCP) source, an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR)source, a helicon wave source, a surface wave plasma source, a surfacewave plasma source having a, slotted plane antenna, etc. Although thefirst plasma 204 may be heated by any plasma source, it is desired thatthe first plasma. 204 may be heated by a method that produces a reducedor minimum fluctuation in its plasma potential V_(p,1). For example, anICP source is a practical technique that produces a reduced or minimumV_(p,1) fluctuation.

Additionally, the first plasma chamber 202 comprises a direct current(DC) conductive ground electrode having a conductive surface that actsas a boundary in contact with the first plasma 204 and may beincorporated into the chamber walls of the first plasma chamber 202, asshown in FIG. 2. The DC conductive ground electrode may be coupled to DCground 220. The DC conductive ground electrode may act as an ion sinkthat is driven by the first plasma 204 at the first plasma potential(V_(p,1)). Although not necessary, it is desirable that the DCconductive ground electrode comprises a relatively large area in contactwith the first plasma 204. The larger the area of the DC groundelectrode, the lower the first plasma potential. For example, thesurface area of the conductive surface for the DC conductive groundelectrode in contact with the first plasma 204 may be greater than anyother surface area in contact with the first plasma 204. Alternatively,as an example, the conductive surface for the DC conductive groundelectrode may be in contact with the first plasma 204 may be the onlyconductive surface that is in contact with the first plasma 204. The DCconductive ground electrode may offer the lowest impedance path toground from the first plasma 204.

As described above, (energetic) electron flux (or electron currentj_(ee)) from the first plasma 204 initiates and sustains the secondplasma 208 in the second plasma chamber 206. In order to control theelectron flux 210 and produce a mono-energetic space-charge neutralizedneutral beam, the first plasma potential (V_(p,1)), as described above,and the second plasma potential (V_(p,2)) should be stable withsubstantially reduced or minimal fluctuations if any fluctuations atall. To achieve this stability in the second plasma 208, the secondplasma chamber 206 comprises a DC conductive bias electrode (shown asthe chamber wall in FIG. 2) having a conductive surface in contact withthe second plasma 208, wherein the DC conductive bias electrode iscoupled to a DC voltage source (e.g., boundary power source 110). The DCvoltage source is configured to bias the DC conductive bias electrode ata positive DC voltage (V_(DC)). As a result, the second plasma potential(V_(p,2)) is a boundary-driven plasma potential driven by a (V_(DC))voltage source, thus causing V_(p,2) to rise to about −V_(DC) and remainsubstantially stable. Although one DC conductive bias electrode is shownin FIG. 2, the system 200 may comprise one or more DC conductive biaselectrodes.

Furthermore, the plasma processing system 200 comprises a separationmember 214 disposed between the first plasma chamber 202 and the secondplasma chamber 206. The separation member 214 may act as an electron 210diffuser. The electron diffusion is driven by an electric field throughan electron acceleration layer created by the potential differenceV=V_(p,2)−V_(p,1). The separation member 214 may comprise an insulator,such as quartz or alumina, or the separation member 214 may comprise adielectric coated conductive material that is electrically floating andhas high RF impedance to ground. Due to the large electric field acrossthe electron acceleration layer (∇_(z)(V_(p,2)−V_(p,1))), the electronflux is sufficiently energetic to sustain ionization in the secondplasma 208. However, the system 200 may optionally comprise a plasmaheating system (not shown) configured to further heat the second plasma208.

The separation member 214 may comprise one or more openings 216 topermit the passage of the energetic electron flux 210 from the firstplasma chamber 202 to the second plasma chamber 206 and energetic ionflux 218 from the second plasma chamber 206 into the first plasmachamber 202. The total area of the one or more openings 216 can beadjusted relative to the surface area of the DC conductive groundelectrode to ensure a relatively large potential differenceV=V_(p,2)−V_(p,1) while minimizing reverse ion current from the secondplasma 208 to the first plasma 204, and thereby ensure a sufficient ionenergy for ions striking the substrate 25.

The first ion flux 218 (e.g., ion current, j_(i1)) from a firstpopulation of ions in the second plasma 208 flows to the DC conductiveground electrode in the first plasma chamber 202 in a quantityapproximately equivalent to the energetic electron flux 210 (or electroncurrent j_(ee)) from the first plasma 204 through the electronacceleration layer at the separation member 214 into the second plasma208.

As described above, the energetic electron flux 210 is sufficientlyenergetic to form the second plasma 208. Therein, a population ofthermal electrons and a second population of ions are formed. Thethermal electrons are largely a result of ejected electrons uponionization of the second plasma 208 by the incoming energetic electronflux 210 (or electron current j_(ee)). However, some energetic electronsfrom the energetic electron flux may lose a sufficient amount of energyand, thus, become part of the thermal electron population.

Due to Debye shielding, only the thermal electrons of the second plasma208 flow to the DC conductive bias electrode (e.g., thermal electroncurrent, j_(te)) in a quantity approximately equal to the energeticelectron flux, i.e., j_(te)˜j_(ee). While thermal electron currentj_(te) is directed to the DC conductive bias electrode, a second ionflux (not shown) from the second population of ions is directed to thesubstrate at V_(p,2) (as ion current, j_(i2)).

If the incoming energetic electron energy is sufficiently high, asubstantial fraction of the energetic electron flux (j_(ee)) willsurvive the passage through the second plasma 208 and strike thesubstrate 212. However, regardless of their origin (i.e., energeticelectrons from energetic electron flux j_(ee) or energetic electronsfrom the thermal electron population), only energetic electrons capableof passing through the substrate sheath (i.e. climbing the potential“hill”) will reach substrate 212. Since substrate 212 is at floating DCground, the ion current j_(i2) that is fed by the second ion populationin the second plasma 208 will be equivalent to the electron currentj_(e2) (i.e., no net current, or j_(i2)˜j_(e2)). Alternatively, thesubstrate 212 may be at approximately DC ground since thefloating-ground surface potential is expected to be slightly above DCground.

In such a configuration for the system 200, the elevation of the secondplasma potential above the first plasma potential drives an energeticelectron beam (having electron current j_(ee)) to form the second plasma208, while particle balance throughout the system 200 enforces an equalnumber of electrons (e.g., electron current, j_(e2)) and ions (e.g., ioncurrent, j_(i2)) striking the substrate 212 (i.e., j_(i2)˜j_(e2)). Thischarge balance manifests as a space-charge neutralized neutral beamdirected to substrate 212 that activates a chemical process at thesubstrate 212. In one embodiment, the up-shift of the V_(S) (and hence,E_(K)) is achieved by bombarding the wafer surface with the right amountof power of energetic electrons. V_(S) is the effective sheath potentialformed across the substrate 212. For example, a −800V DC-top will resultin the bombardment of the wafer surface with a broad spectrum of EEDf ofelectrons with peak-energy passing the ˜800 eV mark. As a result, the DCsheath V_(S) will be driven to ˜800V below its normal (i.e., with topbeing at ground) level; that is on top of the VHF-Phasor RIE situation(e.g., the ˜120 eV E_(K)). As a result, an E_(K) of ˜120+800˜900 eV maybe expected. The second plasma chamber 206 may also include a variablegap system (not shown) that may vary the distance between the substrate212 and the separation member 214. In addition to the combination ofhigh-negative DC and VHF-Phasor shifting the E_(K) to the higher energyregime, but adjusting the distance can also alter or tune the adjustedplasma density profile 122 shown in the plasma density profile plot 116.For example, the gap distance may be adjusted between 1 cm to 50 cm.

In the FIG. 2 embodiment, the system 200 may also include a phasorelectrode 222 disposed between the substrate and the VHF source 112. Thephasor electrode 222 may be used to provide electromagnetic energy toform the second plasma density profile 120 within the second plasmachamber 206. The phasor electrode 222 may provide an alternating sourceof energy to at least four points adjacent to the substrate 212. Theenergy provided to each point may be out of phase with each other, suchthat in the FIG. 2 embodiment, the four signals may be out of phase byabout 90 ninety degrees or between 60 and 120 degrees. For example, thefirst output 224 may be out of phase with the second output 226, thirdoutput 228, and the fourth output by at least 90 degrees in oneembodiment. In this way, the energy provided to the second plasmachamber 206 may appear to alternate or rotate around the substrate 212between the four outputs. In one embodiment, the outputs may beoperating at the same or similar frequency, such as 100 MHz. However,the frequency may vary between 50 MHz and 1 GHz and the power may varybetween 50W and 1500W.

In one embodiment, the four outputs (e.g., first output 224, secondoutput 226, third output 228, fourth output 230) may symmetricallyaligned around the substrate 212, but are not required to besymmetrical. The location of the four outputs may also influence thecenter low density profile 120 which may be used to offset the centerhigh plasma density profile 118, as shown in FIG. 1. The phasorelectrode 222 may be made of any dielectric material that may be able toisolate each of the four output signals from each other. The dielectricmaterial may include, but is not limited to, ceramic or quartz material.

The phasor electrode 222 may be powered by one or more VHF power sources112, such that the power may be provided out of phase to each output.One approach may be use a single generator which will be described ingreater detail in the description of FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of VHF source 112 coupled to a powersplitter and impedance matcher 300 and a top view illustration of aphasor electrode 222. In one embodiment, the VHF power source 112 mayprovide a current signal to the power splitter 302 to divide the currentsignal into two alternating current signals that may be provided to eachof the four outputs ((e.g., first output 224, second output 226, thirdoutput 228, fourth output 230). The divided current signals may be outof phase from each other and may each have a distinct output line thatmay be coupled to the phasor electrode 222 in the second plasma processchamber 206. The power splitter 302 may also include impedance matchingcomponents (not shown) that may be controlled to match the impedance ofthe VHF power source 112 to the phasor electrode 222. The impedancematching may prevent power from being reflected back to the VHF powersource 112 from the process chamber 106.

The power splitter 300 may also be tuned to generate a standing wave orresonant wave along a conductive element (not shown). The standing wavemay include a node where the voltage signal does not move and may have aminimal or zero magnitude and an antinode that may be the maximum orminimum magnitude of the voltage signal. In this embodiment, thestanding wave may have a wavelength and amplitude. In one embodiment,the standing wave may be a half wavelength of the signal from the VHFpower source 112. The signal from the VHF power source 112 may generatea voltage signal and a magnetic field within the power splitter 300. Inthis embodiment, the voltage signal may include a node near the centerof a conductive element 306 or approximately a distance of approximatelya quarter wavelength along the conductive element 306. The standing wavemay be centered along the conductive element 306, such that the node ofthe voltage signal is near the center of the conductive element 306 andthe antinodes may be near the ends of the conductive element 306.Accordingly, the maximum magnitude of the magnetic field may be near thecenter of the conductive element 306.

In this embodiment, the conductive element 306 may be a rod that mayinclude metallic or conductive elements that enable current to flow thethrough the rod. The rod may be disposed between a first tuningcapacitor 308 and a second tuning capacitor 310 that may be usedgenerate a standing wave along the rod. The tuning capacitors 308, 310may be adjusted to place the node of the voltage signal and the antinodeof the magnetic field near the center of the rod. In one instance, thisplacement may be ¼ of the wavelength of the signal provided by the VHFpower source 112. Accordingly, the distance between the tuningcapacitors 308, 310 may be at least ½ of the wavelength of the signalprovided by the VHF source 112.

The first and second tuning capacitors 308, 310 may be used to adjustthe alternating current flow from the signal received from the VHF powersource 112. As the current flow oscillates along the length of theconductive element, the standing waves may be maintained based, at leastin part, on the settings of the first and second tuning capacitors 308,310. The direction of the magnetic field may oscillate based, at leastin part, on the direction of the current flow in the conductive element.The direction of the magnetic field may be perpendicular the currentflow through the conductive element. For example, as the current flowoscillates along the direction of the conductive element 306, thedirection of the magnetic field oscillates in a direction that may be toperpendicular to the direction of the current flow. The oscillation ofthe current and the magnetic field may oscillate in polarity byapproximately 180 degrees. In one specific embodiment, the magneticfield may be oscillating in two opposing directions around theconductive element 306.

In one specific embodiment, the frequency of the alternating current mayrange between approximately 40 MHz and 200 MHz. The first and secondtuning capacitors 308, 310 may range in capacitance between 10 pF and 50pF to maintain a standing wave of the voltage signal 110 and themagnetic field 112 associated with the alternating current in theconductive element 306. In yet another embodiment, the second tuningcapacitor 310 may be omitted from the powers splitter 300. In thisinstance, the capacitive properties of the conductive element 202 may beused to function as the second tuning capacitor 206. In this way, thefirst tuning capacitor 308 may be adjusted in view of the capacitiveproperties of the conductive element 306.

In the FIG. 3 embodiment, when the current flows left to right along theconductive element 306, the magnetic field oscillates around theconductive element 306 in a tangential manner such that the magneticfield oscillates in and out of the two-dimensional plane (e.g., thesurface of the page on which the conductive element 306 is drawn) thatincludes the conductive element 306.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, two or more inductors (e.g., first inductor312 and second inductor 314) may be disposed near the center of theconductive element 306. In this instance, the inductors 312, 314 may belocated near the antinode of the magnetic field. In this way, theinductors 312, 314 may be exposed to the maximum magnitude of themagnetic field generated by the signal received from the VHF powersource 112. Accordingly, the current induced in the inductors 312, 314may be related to or in proportion to the magnitude of the magneticfield. The alternating direction of the magnetic field may induce analternating current in each of the inductors 312, 314 that may beapproximately 180 degrees out of phase in each direction. In this way,the current, or power generated by the current, may be split between afirst output 228 and a second output 230 for the first inductor 314 anda third output 224 and a fourth output 226 for the second inductor 312.The phase of the third output 224 and the fourth output 226 may bealtered by the respective delay components 324, 326, such that the fouroutputs are out of phase with each other by about 90 degrees. Hence, thefirst output 228 signal and the second output 230 signal may be about180 degrees out of phase from each other and the third output 224 signaland the fourth output 226 signal may also be about 180 degrees out ofphase with each other. The delay components 324, 326 may alter the thirdoutput 324 signal such that it is about 90 degrees out of phase witheither the first output 228 signal or the second output 230 signal andthe fourth output 226 signal is also about 90 degrees out of phase withthe first output 228 signal or the second output 230. For examples,relative to each of the output signals, the first output 228 signal maybe about zero degrees, the third output 224 may be about 90 degrees, thesecond output 230 may be about 180 degrees, and the fourth output 226may be about 270 degrees. Accordingly, the power may alternate or rotatearound the phasor electrode 222 as a result of each of the four outputsbeing out of phase with each other.

For purposes of explanation, the coils of the inductor may be induced toflow current by the presence of a nearby magnetic field. The coils ofthe inductor may form a magnetic field intercept surface area thatextends between the continuous portions of the wire that form theinductor. For example, in a loop inductor (not shown) that may be formedby a wire that forms a circular loop, the magnetic field interceptsurface area may be formed within the plane of the interior portion ofthe circular loop. In this way, when a magnetic field is passes throughmagnetic field intercept surface area and is perpendicular to themagnetic field intercept surface area, the magnetic field may induce arelative maximum amount of current in the circular loop inductor.Similarly, another magnetic flux intercept surface area may be formedbetween the coil wire of the inductor 312, 314. The magnetic field maybe intercepted by magnetic field intercept surface area of the inductor312, 314 which may induce current flow through the inductor 312, 314. Inanother embodiment, the magnetic flux intercept surface area may besimilar to a Gaussian surface that may be used to determine the flux ofa magnetic field. The boundaries of the Gaussian surface may bedetermined by the arrangement of the wire that may form the inductor.The wire arrangement may be, but is not limited to, a circular loop or acoil as shown in FIG. 3 (e.g., inductor 312).

Accordingly, in the FIG. 3 embodiment, the inductor 312 may also have amagnetic flux intercept surface area that may be positioned to beperpendicular to the magnetic field generated by the conductive element306. In this embodiment, the inductors 312, 314 may be placedsubstantially parallel to the conductive element 202, such that themagnetic flux intercept surface area may be substantially perpendicularto the magnetic field generated by the conductive element 202. However,the system 200 may still be operational when the magnetic flux interceptsurface area of the inductor 212 is not substantially parallel to themagnetic field generated by the conductive element 202. The positioningof the magnetic flux intercept surface area in a substantiallyperpendicular manner merely increases the efficiency of inducing morecurrent through the inductor 212. The perpendicular arrangement ofmagnetic field and the intercept surface area may not be required tooperate the system 300 as described in this application.

In another embodiment, the conductive element 306 may be arranged in anygeometric manner that may enable an alternating current flow generatedfrom the VHF power source 112. The geometric conductive element (notshown) may maintain an alternating magnetic field (not shown) that mayinclude an antinode that designates the location of the maximummagnitude of the magnetic field. Accordingly, an inductor (not shown)may be placed near, adjacent to, or at the antinode. In anotherembodiment, the inductor may be disposed along a majority of the lengthof the conductive element. The conductive element may have an antinodelocation that may be based, at least in part, on the geometry of theconductive element. In this way, the inductor may disposed or arrangedin a manner that uses or exploits the antinode to optimize the amount ofcurrent that can be induced within the inductor. For example, theconductive element may be arranged in coil-like (e.g., helical) geometrybetween the first capacitor 308 and the second capacitor 310. In thisinstance, the inductor (not shown) may also be arranged in a coil-likegeometry to intersect or to be adjacent to the antinode of the coil-likeconductive element. For example, the coil-like conductive element andinductor may include windings that are arranged in approximately anopposite manner. The windings for each component may have wave a likegeometry and may be arranged in a way that the geometric waves of thecomponents are out of phase with each other. In one specific embodiment,the geometric waves may appear to be approximately 180 degrees out ofphase.

In other embodiments, the conductive element 306 and the inductor arearranged, such that the inductor 312 is parallel to the magnetic fieldof the conductive element. In this instance, the conductive element (notshown) may not be linear as shown in FIG. 3.

The power splitter 300 may also include impedance capacitor 318 that maybe tuned to match the impedance of the VHF power source 112 and theimpedance of the process chamber 102 or any other output device that maybe coupled to the power splitter 300. Impedance may be an indication ofan amount of opposition a circuit has to alternating current. Inaddition to resistance, the impedance may also reflect the oppositioncaused by inductance or capacitance generated in an AC circuit. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the impedance capacitor 318 may becoupled to electrical ground 220.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram 400 for a method for generating plasma in thenon-ambipolar plasma system processing system 200. The plasma processingsystems shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 may be used to generate a plasmadensity profile 116 and ion energy distribution profile 124 to treatsubstrates 212 using an etching or deposition process. In oneembodiment, the plasma chamber 102 may be designed to incorporate afirst plasma chamber 202 that may inject electrons into the secondplasma chamber 206 to generate the plasma conditions described in thedescription of FIG. 1. The second plasma chamber 206 may also be used toshift the IEDf (ion energy distribution function) to higher energies asdescribed in the description of FIG. 1.

At block 402, the plasma chamber 102 may receive a substrate 212 thatmay be placed on a substrate holder (e.g., phasor electrode 222) of aplasma chamber (e.g., second plasma chamber 206) that is adjacent to anon-ambipolar ion plasma (NIP) chamber (e.g., first plasma chamber 202).The substrate 212 may include any type of material that may be etched ordeposited on using plasma. The substrate 212 may made of silicon orgallium arsenide or any other material that may be used to manufactureelectronic devices. The substrate 212 may include layers of films orstructures that may be etched by or deposited on using the plasma. Thesubstrate 212 may be or aligned with the four VHF outputs of the phasorelectrode 222 and disposed opposite from the first plasma chamber 202.

The vacuum system 108 may be used to evacuate the plasma chamber 102 toa relatively low pressure (e.g., <1 Torr) and the gas delivery system104 may provide one or more process gases such as, but not limited to,nitrogen, argon, halogen-based gases, or a combination thereof. Thefirst plasma chamber 202 may also be used as a gas plenum to deliver theprocess gases to the second chamber 206. The gas may be distributedthrough the openings 216 or via gas plenum ducts (not shown) that mayprovide the gas to the second plasma chamber 206 without introducingthem directly into the first plasma chamber 206. The process controller114 may be used to generate proper ambient conditions within the firstplasma chamber and/or the second plasma chamber 206, such that plasmamay be generated by igniting the process gases within the plasma chamber102.

At block 404, the process controller may generate or ignite the processgases within the plasma chamber 102 comprising the first plasma chamber202 and the second plasma chamber 206. In one embodiment, the firstplasma chamber 202 may use an radio frequency (RF) power source 106 toprovide energy that may be used to ignite the plasma in the first plasmachamber 202. The energy may be provided by an RF electrode 215 that iselectrically isolated from the grounded walls of the first plasmachamber 202. In certain embodiments, the first plasma chamber 202 mayinclude a grounded anode that may be coupled to the chamber walls,instead of grounding the interior walls of the first plasma chamber 202.In one embodiment, the RF power may comprise a magnitude of no more than500W and a frequency less than 5 GHz. In another embodiment, the RFpower may be more than 300W and at least 100 MHz. The first plasma 204may be maintained at a first plasma potential (V_(p,1)) that may includean electron flux that may be directed towards the second plasma chamber206, such that electron flux may be used to ignite a second plasma 208.

At block 406, generating a second plasma 208 in a second plasma chamber206 disposed adjacent to the first plasma chamber 202 by using electrons210 received from the first plasma chamber 202. The second plasmachamber 206 may be maintained at a pressure of no more than 500 mTorr bythe vacuum system 108 and the process controller 114. The process gasesinside the second plasma chamber may include, but are not limited to,argon, nitrogen, halogen-based gas(es), oxygen, or a combinationthereof.

At block 408, the process controller 114 may enable the application of aplurality of out-of-phase signals to an electrode (e.g., phasorelectrode 222) disposed opposite of the substrate 212 and the substrateholder to form an ion energy distribution function (e.g., IEDf plot 124)at a first energy level within the second plasma 208. The first energylevel may be less than 300 eV and may have an energy distribution of nomore than 50 eV around the peak ion energy. In one embodiment, a firstset of electrodes (e.g., first output 224, second output 226) mayreceive a first plurality of power signals that are about 180 degreesout of phase with each other from the VHF power source 112. A second setof electrodes (e.g., third output 228, fourth output 230) may receive asecond plurality of power signals that may also be 180 degrees of outphase with each other from the same or another VHF power source 112.

In one embodiment, the phase angle relationship between the four outputsignals may be configured to be offset from each other by about 90degrees. For example, the first output 224 may have a phase angle ofabout zero degrees, the second output 226 may have a phase angle ofabout 180 degrees, the third output 228 may have a phase angle of about90 degrees, and the fourth output 230 may have a phase angle of about270 degrees. In this way, the power provided to the second plasma 208may rotate around the phasor electrode 222 at a frequency set by theprocess controller 114 and enabled by the VHF power source 112. In otherembodiments, the phase angle difference between power signals emittedfrom the phasor electrode 222 outputs may range between 60 degrees and120 degrees. In one specific embodiment, the frequency of the powerprovided by the VHF power source 112 may be about 100 MHz. However, inother embodiments, the frequency may be no more than 1 GHz.

The second plasma 208 may have a relatively tight IEDf, but in someinstances may a relatively low first energy value, as shown in the IEDfplot 124. In certain instances, it may be desirable to have plasmaconditions with a much higher energy. One approach to increase theenergy and maintain a relatively tight IEDf may be to shift the energyupward by applying additional power to the second plasma 208.

At block 410, the process controller 114 may enable the application of adirect current (DC) power source 110 to the second plasma 208 via a wallof the second plasma chamber 208 or an electrode that may be adjacent tothe second plasma 208. In this way, the ion energy distribution function(e.g., IEDf plot 124)) of the second plasma 208 may shift from a firstenergy level to a second energy level that may be higher than the firstenergy level. The energy may shift up to as high as 10 keV in someembodiments

In one embodiment, the DC power source 110 may apply a positive voltageof at least 1V to the second plasma chamber 206.

At block 412, the second plasma 208 may be used to treat the substrate212 using the second plasma. 208 by etching the surface of the substrate212 or depositing a film on the substrate 212.

It is to be appreciated that the Detailed Description section, and notthe Abstract section, is intended to be used to interpret the claims.The Abstract section can set forth one or more, but not all exemplaryembodiments, of the present disclosure, and thus, is not intended tolimit the present disclosure and the appended claims in any way.

While the present disclosure has been illustrated by the description ofone or more embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have beendescribed in considerable detail, they are not intended to restrict orin any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail.Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to thoseskilled in art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore notlimited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method andillustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures maybe made from such details without departing from the scope of thegeneral inventive concept.

What is claimed is:
 1. A plasma processing system, comprising: a firstplasma chamber comprising an electrically grounded chamber wall thatforms a gas plenum for the plasma processing system; a second plasmachamber opposite the first plasma chamber comprising: a substrateholder; a direct current (DC) voltage electrode; a very high frequency(VI-IF) electrode opposite the first plasma chamber, the VHF electrodecomprising: a first plurality of elements that can receive a first VHFpower signal; and a second plurality of elements that can receive asecond VHF RF power signal, the second plurality of elements and thefirst plurality of elements being symmetrical to each other; and adielectric electron injector plate disposed between the first plasmachamber and the second plasma chamber.
 2. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first plasma chamber further comprises: a power window that enablestransmission of radio frequency (RF) power into the first plasmachamber; and a power source that provides the RF power through the powerwindow.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the power window is oppositethe dielectric electron injector plate.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the dielectric injector plate comprises a gas delivery systemthat is in fluid communication with the second plasma chamber thatcomprises an exhaust port for removing gas from the second plasmachamber.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first plasma chambercomprises a pumping system that maintains a, pressure difference betweenthe first plasma chamber and the second plasma chamber.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising an adjustable gap system that varies aseparation distance between the first plasma chamber and the substrateholder.
 7. A plasma processing system, comprising: a gas plenum coupledto electrical ground; a very high frequency (VHF) electrode opposite theinsulated gas plenum, the VHF electrode comprising: a first plurality ofpower elements that can receive a first VHF power signal; a secondplurality of power elements that can receive a second VHF power signal;a direct current (DC) voltage source disposed between the insulated gasplenum and the VHF electrode; a gap system that adjusts a distancebetween the non-conductive gas plenum and the VHF electrode; and aprocess controller to drive electrons toward the substrate by adjustingthe DC voltage, the first VHF power signal, the second VHF power signal,and a gap distance between the insulated gas plenum and the VHF RFelectrode.
 8. The system of claim 7, further comprising a transmissionport in the gas plenum that enables RF power to be transmitted into thegas plenum.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein the first plurality ofelements and the second plurality of power elements are symmetrical toeach other.
 10. The system of claim 7, wherein process controller isconfigured to make the first VHF power signal and the second VHF powersignal are out of phase with each other.
 11. The system of claim 7,wherein the process controller is configured to make the first VHF powersignals and the second VHF power signals are out of phase with eachother between 60 and 120 degrees.
 12. The system of claim 7, wherein thefirst plurality of elements and the second plurality of power elementsare asymmetrical to each other.
 13. A method comprising: receiving asubstrate on an substrate holder of a first plasma chamber comprising agrounded chamber wall or electrode; generating a first plasma in thefirst plasma chamber using a power source to ignite process gases withinthe first plasma chamber, the first plasma comprising electronsgenerated during the ignition of the process gases; generating a secondplasma in a second plasma chamber disposed adjacent to the first plasmachamber by using electrons received from the first plasma chamber;applying a plurality of out-of-phase signals to an electrode disposedopposite of the substrate and the substrate holder to form an ion energydistribution function at a first energy level within the second plasma;applying a direct current (DC) source to a wall of the second plasmachamber to shift the ion energy distribution function of the secondplasma from a first energy level to a second energy level that is higherthan the first energy level; treating the substrate using the secondplasma.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first chamber comprises:an electrically grounded chamber wall that forms a gas plenum for thefirst plasma chamber and the second plasma chamber; a power window thatenables transmission of radio frequency (RE) power into the first plasmachamber through the electrically grounded chamber wall; and a powersource that provides the RF power through the power window.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the RF power comprises a magnitude of nomore than 500W and a frequency less than 5 GHz.
 16. The method of claim13, wherein the electrode comprises a first set of electrodes to receivea first plurality of power signals and a second set of electrodes toreceive a second plurality of power signals.
 17. The method of claim 13,wherein the plurality of out-of-phase signals out of phase comprises afirst set of signals that are out of phase with a second set of signalbetween 60 and 120 degrees.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein thegenerating of the second plasma comprises a pressure of no more than 500mTorr.
 19. The method of claim 13, wherein the RF power is more than300W and at least 100 MHz.
 20. The method of claim 13, wherein the DCsource applies a negative voltage of at least 25V.